The first British tourists allowed us to return to North Korea to tell the BBC what they saw

Do not insult the leaders. Do not insult ideology. And don’t judge.

These are the tourist guides of rules that read Western tourists while preparing to drive through the border to North Korea, possibly the most secret and repressive country in the world.

Then there is the practical information. No telephone signal, without the Internet, without ATM.

“North Koreans are not robots. They have opinions, objectives and sense of humor. And in our informative session we encourage people to listen to them and understand them,” says Rowan Beard, who runs Young Pioneer Tours, one of the two Western companies that resumed trips to the country last week, after a five -year -old.

North Korea sealed its borders at the beginning of the pandemic, excluding diplomats, help workers and travelers, and making it almost impossible to know what was happening there.

Since then, it has been isolated even more than most of the world, depending on the support of Russia and China. Many doubted whether Westerners would ever allow them to return.

But after years of Cajoling and several false beginnings, Rowan and some other tour leaders received green light to restart operations. He gathered a group of anxious travelers in just five hours, desperate for not losing the opportunity. Most were Vloggers and travel addicts, some wanted to mark the final country of their list, along with the strange north Korea enthusiasts.

Last Thursday, tourists, from the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Australia, drove on the border from China to the remote area of ​​Rason for a four night trip.

Among them was the British YouTuber Mike O’Kennedy, 28. Even with its reputation, it was surprised by the extreme control level. As with all the trips to North Korea, tourists were escorted by local guides, who followed a strict and pre -approved schedule. It included carefully choreographed trips to a beer factory, a completely supplied school and a new pharmacy.

Ben Weston, one of Suffolk’s Tour leaders, compared visiting North Korea with “being on a school trip.” “You can’t leave the hotel without the guides,” he said.

“A couple of times, I even had to let them know when I wanted to use the bath,” Mike said. “I’ve never had to do that anywhere in the world.”

Despite the companion, Mike was able to detect real -life fragments. “Everyone was working, it didn’t seem that someone was hanging out. That was a bit bleak of seeing.”

On his trip to school, a group of eight -year -old young people made a dance of ballistic missile animations that reached targets. A video of the show shows girls and boys with red ties, singing, while the explosions explode on a screen behind them.

For now, tourists remain away from the capital Pyongyang. Greg Vaczi by Koryo Tours, the other tourism company allowed to return, admits that the current itinerary lacks the “large monuments” of Pyongyang. He suspects that the authorities have chosen as their guinea pig because the area is relatively contained and easy to control.

Configured as a special economic zone, to test new financial policies, it operates as a mini capitalist enclave within a socialist state. Chinese entrepreneurs direct joint companies with North Koreans, and can travel and leave quite freedom.

Joe Smith, an experienced traveler of North Korea and former writer of the North Korea News specialist platform, was there on his third trip. “I feel that the more times visit, less you know. Every time you take a little sight of the curtain, which leaves you with more questions,” he said.

The highlight of Joe was a surprise visit outside the agenda to a luxury articles market, where people sold jeans and perfumes, along with fake bags of Louis Vuitton and Japanese washing machines, probably imported from China. Here, tourists were not allowed to take photos, an attempt to hide this consumption bubble from the rest of the country, they suspected.

“This was the only place where people didn’t expect us,” Joe said. “He felt messy and real; a place to the North Koreans really leave. I loved it.”

But according to experienced tours leaders, the group’s movements were more restricted than on previous trips, with fewer opportunities to walk through the streets, appear in a barbershop or supermarket, and talk to the locals.

Covid was often cited as the reason, said Greg by Koryo Tours. “On the surface they are still worried. Our luggage was disinfected on the border, our temperatures were taken and about 50% of people still use masks.” Greg cannot determine if fear is genuine or an excuse to control people.

It is believed that Covid Strong northern Koreaalthough it is difficult to know the scope of suffering.

The local guides repeated the government line that the virus entered the country in a balloon sent from South Korea, and was quickly eradicated in 90 days. But Rowan, who has been in North Korea more than 100 times, felt that Rason had been affected by the harsh Covid regulations. Many Chinese companies had closed, he said, and their workers had left.

Even Joe, the experienced traveler of North Korea, commented how in ruins it was the buildings. “The places were weakly illuminated and there was no heating, apart from our hotel rooms,” he said, pointing to a trip to a cold, dark and deserted gallery. “It felt as if they opened the doors just for us.”

The photographs of the regime could make North Korea look clean and brilliant, Joe said, but in person you realize that “the roads are horrible, the pavements are wobbly and the buildings are strangely constructed.” His hotel room was past fashionable and dirty, he said, looked like “his grandmother’s living room.” The whole window was cracked.

“They have had five years to fix things. North Koreans are so sensitive to what they show to tourists. If this is the best they can show, I’m afraid to think what else is there,” he said. Most of the country remains well hidden, with More than four out of 10 people who believe they are malnourished and who need help.

One of the few possibilities of tourists in North Korea interacts with local people is through their guides, which sometimes speak English. In these recent trips, they were surprisingly well informed, despite the intense propaganda machine and regime information block. This is probably because they talk to the Chinese businessmen who go and go, Greg said.

They knew about Trump’s rates and war in Ukraine, even that North Korean troops were involved. But when Joe showed a photo of Syria, his guide did not know that President Assad had been shot down. “I carefully explained that sometimes, when people do not like their leader, they get up and Forzan, and at first I did not believe.”

These conversations must be handled delicately. Strict laws prevent North Koreans from talking freely. Ask or reveal too much and tourists can put their guide at risk.

Mike admits that there were times when he made this nervous. On a trip to a friendship house in North-Russia, he was invited to write in the visitors book. “I was blank and wrote something like ‘I hope the peace of the world.’ Then, my guide told me that it was something inappropriate to write.

“In general, the guides did a great job by making us feel safe. There were only a couple of moments when I thought, this is strange.”

For Greg de Koryo Tours, these interactions contribute a deeper purpose to North Korea tourism: “North Koreans have the opportunity to interact with foreigners. This allows them to find new ideas, which, in a country this is very important.”

But North Korea tourism is controversial, especially because travelers have been allowed back to humanitarian workers and most Western diplomats, including that of the United Kingdom. Critics, including Joanna Hosaniak of the Citizana Alliance for Human Rights of North Korea, argue that these trips mainly benefit the regime.

“This is not like tourism in other poor countries, where local people benefit from additional income. The vast majority of the population does not know that these tourists exist. Their money goes to the State and, ultimately, towards their military,” he said.

A conversation has gotten into YouTuber Mike’s head. During his trip to school, he was surprised when a girl, after meeting him, said he hoped to visit the United Kingdom someday. “He didn’t have his heart to tell him that his possibilities were very, very thin,” he said.